retired_embartl

"If God wanted us to play football in the air, then he would have built a pitch in the clouds" ( Brian Clough, Legend )


The Brian Clough Challenge



In the summer of 2000, an unknown manager walked into the hotseat at Hartlepool Town to the bemusement of the club's faithful followers. He had never managed before, and was happy to freely speak his mind no matter who he offended. His name was Ryan Duff. His ambitions lay elsewhere, at the pinnacle of club football, but like every young first time manager in the professional world - he would have to learn his trade at the bottom and prove himself able. Hartlepool were comfortably mid table in the Third Division when he took over, with no serious worries of relegation, whilst not quite really believing in promotion. Ryan intended on changing that - andf then buggering off soon afterwards - he was not a patient man. He had a few clubs to get through before the big England job came his way.

Within the first week of pre-season Ryan had come to make a fair guestimate of who was worth keeping and who wasn't, both in terms of coaching and playing.

The Coaches and Staff

Well to be precise he should have said coach. Martin Scott was a young qualified coach, though admittedly Hartlepool was in his blood and his passion seeped through on the practice field. If he didn't receive the full attention of his players, they suffered as a result, and this made Ryan happy. A man of similar tastes would make a worthy Assistant Manager - and he duly did offer promotion to Mr. Scott, an offer accepted within seconds, which meant Ryan really had to tell current player/assistant manager 37 year old Colin West he'd lost one of his jobs. The striker could still help out in a coaching capacity if he wanted.

With no other men on the training field, Ryan knew he'd need at least one other man out there helping, especially with the goalkeepers, as frankly neither he nor Martin specialised in that area. There was only so far nailing the b*stards every time they let in a goal could go.

Keith Kerry Knobbs and Tommy Miller were the two scouts affiliated with the club, and Ryan would rely on them to hop in and out of cars and trains whenever he wanted them too. It should be pointed out that Keith did not bear any of the characteristics one might have expected with his unfortunate acronym of a name. Tommy being the elder of the pair would be on the look out within the immediate vicinity for the starlets. Keith would get the rather pointless trip to South America.

John Murray looked after all the scraped, bruised and dead at the club in his little hut of a medical office.

Required: Coaches - at least one specialising in goalkeeping.

retired_embartl

Authors Note

Erm yeah - phew! Last time Bob did this, I spent a good 15 days worth of my life on it. So I continue with a fair degree of caution. Using CM00/01 etc.

retired_embartl

The Players

Now for a third division club, Ryan felt the squad was relatively healthy in terms of size, but less so in quality. Pooling the supposed first team and reserves together he sat down with Martin and summarised the individuals at the club.


Goalkeepers

Now clearly assessing their talents was a little difficult for the pair but they made a decent stab based on how they performed in training and Martin's previous knowledge of them in the preceeding seasons but of the four available the options were pretty good really.

Martin Hollund The 25 year old Norwegian had been a regular the previous years, and his confidence and extra edge meant he'd probably start as usual between the sticks.

Tony Williams A talented back up, the 22 year old arrived from Blackburn the previous year and clearly he's a decent shot stopper, but the Welshman will have to settle for second best for now.

Jim Provett This 16 year old looks more like an 8 year old nevertheless there were evidently reasons behind his presence here. A good reach, and a disturbingly high jump that would have had kangaroos staring in awe.

Chris Porter He's 20. Potential, but given the other two are much better, he's a bit screwed. By the time they sod off Jim will probably be ready for a call up, so Chris would be best searching elsewhere. He lost out on a penalty shoot out and consequently will be the second man for the reserves.

Defenders

Full Backs

left

Sam Shilton - 22 year old formerly of Coventry City. Very talented, pacy and loves fish and chips. Could play anywhere on wing. Starter. Probably.

Mark Robertson 18 - in the reserves due to age, but he has talent, needs a bit of time. Given free gymn pass - needs to make use of it.

Ian Clark 25 - also very able - more experience, bulkier than Shilton but will probably be used in the midfield slot for now.

right

Darren Knowles 29 - experienced and a regular in his time here so far. Honest hard working lad and a fisherman in his spare time.

Rory Barker He's 19 and in the reserves until he changes his name. Useful back up, but again will be joining Mark Robertson on the free weights.

Paul Arnison At 22 he needs to be establishing himself now. Having studied under Keegan's Newcastle he clearly has no defensive abilities whatsover, which isn't all that helpful for a defender. Ryan and Martin will work on him swiftly.

Centre Halves

Chris Westwood The 23 year old former Wolves "star" is an intelligent bloke. He can read the game well and is currently into "Crime and Punishment."

Barry Ferguson This fella is on loan from Coventry for a month, the chairman Ken Hodcroft being a bit bored at the time. Still he struck lucky, and this Irishman will be a valuable body at the start of the season - and assuming he doesn't act the tard on the pitch an extension will be sought.

Michael Barron A regular for the past few seasons and his commanding presence should see him start from the off. He's one of those people who scream all the answers to TV quizes.

Gary Strodder With this 35 year old clearly one of the top players in the back line ensuring Martin and Ryan have plenty of options in this position. Called Gizmo on the training ground for some reason.

Graeme Lee A Hartlepool lad all his career, this 22 year old already has 92 matches and a pair of jeans under his belt, but sadly will not be playing for a year after a sickening injury took out his cruciate ligaments.

John Sharpe . The 24 year old will not be at the club long, despite having only just arrived, due to a vital lack of ability. On the transfer list, several Irish clubs have already started wooing the defender, and when the club goes on tour there in a few weeks a move will no doubt be confirmed.

retired_embartl

The Players

Now for a third division club, Ryan felt the squad was relatively healthy in terms of size, but less so in quality. Pooling the supposed first team and reserves together he sat down with Martin and summ

enjikari

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brian of Nazareth:
_ The Players _

Now for a third division club, Ryan felt the squad was relatively healthy in terms of size, but less so in quality. Pooling the supposed first team and reserves together he sat down with Martin and summ <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oops! :p

Never mind, good luck with this. Nice to see someone else use 00-01

shannon2007

Arent you relieved it won though

retired_embartl

Pfft, I had my "Did You Know I was A Hartlepool Fan?" title all prepared anyway :p


Midfielders

left

Paul Stephenson - is one of four players capable here- though two were listed amongst the defenders. He's 32, can play across the midfield line,a creative fella and his currently penning his first novel.

Thomas Tennebo arrived from Norway last year, and at then 25, had never played football before - but that seemingly didn't worry the previous manager Chris Turner, as the former salesman made 11 more appearances. Could struggle to feature this year.

right

Andy McAvoy the only out and out right winger is 20 and not all that good. A new dietary regime and a work ethic wouldn't go amiss if he's to be involved this year.

Craig Midgeley As one of those players who's hard to fit into any side, he's likely to be listed. The 24 year old is talented, but as an attacker not quite a striker, and not yet a midfielder, he's a bit pointless. He is highly rated though by other clubs so definitely a source of cash for any possible replacements. Posesses stunning collection of stick insects.

centre

Lee Fitzpatrick . This 21 year old holding man emerged last year as a rising talent in the side, and the gritty tackler will be a favourite with Ryan. He speaks his mind and often gets lambasted for it, however given that no-one reads the Hartlepool Evening Standard it's not a big deal really.

Tommy Miller A guaranteed starter - this kid is playing way below what he deserves, he's played 91 games for the club so far and Ryan is hoping prying eyes stay away from his prized asset long enough for him to at least reach 100 games.

Strikers

Colin West as previous mentioned, he's a coach now. In truth it has to be where his focus now lies because he's a pathetically useless player. With no stamina or legs more or less, he'll not be in any of the games unless it's an emergency. Eats far too many eggs.

Tim Sperrevik Yet another bleeding Norwegian, this lad is also new to football and at 24 will have to work hard. Still he's got a natural athletic look about him so he probably won't find it too difficult.

Kevin Henderson A 26 year old with only one full season of football behind him is the sign of another late starter. Certainly capable he'll need to bang in a few more than last seasons 8 to stay long at the club.

Adam Boyd The 18 year old is a very promising youth though the sooner he gives up his part time acting in blue movies the better to be honest. Energetic and a ladies man, he'll wait a while in the reserves.

Tony Lormor A journeyman amongst the lower leagues this 29 year old should lead by example and put the ball in the back of the net more often. Given the sad lack of options elsewhere the pressure will be on him to score at first. Member of the Baptist Church.


Overall Requirements : Ryan will need at least one if not two strikers, a back up central midfield and a good right winger to mount a serious challenge for the play -offs at least.

Mike..

Good luck, will be interesting to see the performance of some of your youngsters compared to their older FM2K5 versions

retired_embartl

Pre-Season

With the scouts dispatched, Ryan continued to prepare his squad for a tour of Ireland at the end of July. Playing to his side's current strengths the side became accustomed to the 5-3-2 formation, with Ian Clark and Darren Knowles providing the width on the flanks. Keith Knobbs was recalled from South America and sent to Scandinavia with the target of finding some decent players, the emphasis on the decent, and not the Norwegian.

James Sharp in the end shocked the club instead moving to Wales, and Cwmbran Town for about 6k, and sadly Michael Barron also left the club soon after but the money involved was simply too good to refuse. Gillingham tabled a 325,000 straight bid up front, with a rather cheeky 85k added on after 10 international appearances, but there was positive news for Ryan on potential players coming in, when he captured the loan signing of Leo Fortune West from Cardiff City for at least 3 months, with a view to extending it for the season. The remainder of the month, leading up to including and following the tour of Ireland saw several more faces enter the club as Ryan began to stamp his authority on the club.

Just before the first match Paul Blades arrived on a free transfer, the 35 year old player coach knew how to coach a goalkeeper and would also provide valuable cover in the centre of defense since Barron's departure as the side warmed up against Galway United with a hilariously easy win thay delighted fans and board alike. In truth it probably spoke volumes for the problems affecting Irish football rather than Ryan Duff's genius. All 6 goals came in the first half, with Ian Clark taking two, and Leo Fortune West helping himself to a hat-trick, whilst on loan defender Barry Ferguson nodded in the 6th. Wholesale changes were made at half time, and the second half was a disjointed mess, but no-one particularly cared.

Such one off shows tempted Ryan into thinking about moving to sign the loanees on a permanent basis, but he resisted. The money was there but the board weren't overly keen to spash so much on two players. Still the next day he was cheered up by the arrival of, ironically, another Norwegian player, on Keith's recommendation. Keith had done well so far, with some good prospects turned out, all Tommy Miller Senior had found was a prat called Romeo. Anyway Endre Hansen was the player in, and he was the sought after competent right midfielder. With another right winger ( albeit future prospect ) Kenneth Jorgensen arriving on a free the next day, Ryan decided it was time to ship the unwanted, as Midgeley went on the list.

Few changes were made for the trip to Cobh Ramblers as Ryan sought to establish consistency, though Hansen had his first start [/b] and Tony Williams started between the sticks. Once again the match was won in the first half, though it proved to be a marginally closer encounter, as the side only scored 3 times. Amazingly Leo Fortune West bagged another hat-trick and it was taking all the will power in the world to stop Ryan biting Cardiff's hand off.

The final match saw several changes, with another new young prosect, Peter Johnson on the substitutes bench. Kenneth Jorgensen amongst others received a first start of the tour. Unsurprisingly it proved to be a tougher match but victory was secured thanks to Craig Midgeley, who was put in the shop window for this match. A few younger guns who came in acquitted themselves well as Ryan and Martin were able to reflect on a highly successful tour. On the way back they even picked up another kid called Aidan Lynch released by Finn Harps. The full back seemed a decent enough prospect so a two year deal was swiftly wrapped up.



Summary

Players In :

Paul Blades, 35, DC/Coach, free
Kenneth Jorgensen, 20, AMF/R, free
Endre Hansen, 22, MRC, 14k, Asane,
Phillip Johnson, 21, SC, 5k, Sifhalla.
Aidan Lynch, 19, DMLR, free.


Players Out :

James Sharp, 24, DC, 6k, Cwmbran Town,
Michael Barron, 25 DC, 325k, Gillingham Town.
Craig Midgeley, 24, FRC, 55k, Port Vale.



Results:

Galway United 0-6 Hartlepool Clark 7,23; Fortune West 30,38,41; Ferguson 45
Cobh Ramblers 0-3 Hartlepool Fortune West 25, 37, 45
St. Francis 0-1 Hartlepool Midgeley 41

retired_embartl

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by flipsix3:
Good luck, will be interesting to see the performance of some of your youngsters compared to their older FM2K5 versions <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah I know - It's been interesting to see a few Adam Boyds scoring goals around - hopefully a good sign, and Paul Stephenson as a coach in others - you guys are missing out on his playing ability